The Seattle Seahawks’ recent streak hasn’t been much fun, losing four of their last five games by multiple scores each.

Seattle started the season 3–0, but as the level of competition increased, the team’s flaws became much more evident. Slow starts, a poor running game and run defense are just a few of the things that have contributed to the Seahawks’ recent struggles.

However, perspective is always important. Despite this difficult period, the Seahawks remain in the heart of the NFC West race at 4-4 (0-1 division). They sit in third place in the NFC West behind the Arizona Cardinals (4-4, 2-0 split) and the San Francisco 49ers (4-4, 1-2 split), while the Los Angeles Rams close behind with a 3-4 record. (division 1-1).

Unlike previous years, the NFC West is within everyone’s reach, and the Seahawks know it very well. But a loss to the Rams would drop Seattle to last place, even if the gap between the four teams is small.

“Yeah, and that’s to give you the reality of the situation,” head coach Mike Macdonald said Monday. “Everybody wants to be 8-0 at this point, and I don’t think anybody is. But here we are. You kind of look at it, because it’s kind of the first game of the season here. Second half of the season, an opportunity to feel optimistic and positive about where we are. There’s a lot of good things happening there.

Plus, the Seahawks’ schedule ends up being a blessing. They still have five divisional games remaining, four of which will come in the next six weeks. None of these games will be easy, but the Seahawks’ destiny is theirs.

This divisional challenge begins on Sunday, when Seattle hosts the Los Angeles Rams in a crucial showdown.

Before thinking about the division, the Seahawks know they have a long road ahead to become the best version of themselves.

“We talked about it, the reason you become a football coach is to see your players succeed and improve,” Macdonald said. “When you see growth in your football team, it’s extremely exciting. To achieve it, you have to do the work. You just have to perfect it and you have to attack it.

“That’s what makes games like yesterday really frustrating because you feel the growth. You feel like we’re taking steps in the right direction, and then you kind of get a punch in the face. How are you going to respond to this? It doesn’t mean it’s the end of the journey, it just means “Hey, this is something we have to go through as a football team to move on. next level.” It’s never the road you expect, but it will continue to progress.”

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